CENE
T H E W E E K LY S U N •
M AY 15 - 21, 2019
9
NEWS IN BRIEF
Attention Sun Valley Area Drivers: Expect Closures
The City of Sun Valley is beginning construction work for the second year of the Road and Path Bond Program and is trying to let drivers know what to expect. Focus this past week has been on Elkhorn Road and Pathway. Work on Elkhorn will include rehabilitation and paving of the roadway and bike path, raising and lowering of manholes, new curb and gutter, culverts, and ADA accessibility improvements. Elkhorn Road has been closed to through traffic from Skyline Drive to South Village Way. Access to local traffic has remained open at all times with through traffic being detoured to Village Way. The bike path has been closed from Skyline Drive to South Village. Pedestrians and cyclists should use the Village Way bike path as a detour route. There will brief full closures of Elkhorn Road to local traffic for culvert replacements near Blue Grouse and Horseshoe Road. Flaggers will be onsite to direct local traffic to detours. Work is anticipated to occur between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Night work and weekend work is not expected. Access to residences will remain open at all times, although access points are likely to change to accommodate construction. Next up is construction on Parker Gulch Road, Defiance Street, Keystone Street, and Independence Creek Road instead of previously planned work in the Twin Creeks area due to wet soil conditions. Improvements in the Twin Creeks area are postponed until the soil is dry enough for construction work.
Google Pays Visit To Blaine County Schools
Since 2016, students in Blaine County have learned about the world from the comfort of their classrooms through Google Expeditions. Using recycled cellphones and an app, students can travel back in time, experience the Seven Wonders of the World, and even tour their own community, thanks to a collaborative project with Google that enabled schools to create their own expeditions and then share them with students across the country. “For the past three years, BCSD has been integrating virtual reality into the classroom. By using Google Expeditions, teachers are able to enhance their curriculum in entirely new ways,” said technology integration specialist Paul Zimmerman. “Our success caught the attention of the Google Expeditions team who flew in from New York to spend a day talking to staff, experience two AR and VR sessions, and see our approach to innovative learning firsthand.” With Expeditions AR, teachers can bring 3D objects, like one of Michelangelo’s statues, to the students’ desks so that everyone can examine the object together at the same time. The 3D objects are accompanied by text information that only the teacher can view. The objects are designed as a supplement to a teacher’s existing lesson plan to help bring the subject to life.
Lawsuit Targets Trump Administration Renewal Of Oregon Ranchers’ Grazing Permit
Conservationist groups filed suit last week challenging former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s order to renew grazing permits for Oregon ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond. Zinke’s January 2019 order, one of his last official acts, came despite the Bureau of Land Management’s 2014 decision to cancel the Hammonds’ privilege to graze on public lands following a series of arson fires. Today’s lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Portland, Oregon, says Zinke’s order violates federal rules that require permittees to have a “satisfactory record of performance” in accordance with the terms and conditions of the grazing permit. The permit renewal also waived environmental review, violating federal laws that require such analysis before permits can be issued. “Secretary Zinke hijacked the public process for political reasons and ordered the local land managers to go against their own judgment and renew the grazing permit for public land permittees who had violated federal regulations,” said Erik Molvar, executive director of Western Watersheds Project. “The American public deserves better than management-by-decree, and we’re asking the court to order the agency back to the drawing board to ensure the decision complies with federal law.” Zinke said his order was based in part on President Trump’s July 2018 pardon of the father and son. The lawsuit says that Zinke misinterpreted the effect of the presidential pardon, which did not change the facts underlying the Hammonds’ convictions. The pardon does not negate evidence that the Hammonds’ conduct violated federal regulations and the terms of their permit, which makes them ineligible to renew their permit. The BLM canceled the Hammonds’ grazing permit in 2014 after the agency determined they did not qualify for a renewal based on a lack of “satisfactory record of performance.” Among other things, the permittees were found to have set a series of fires on federal lands without authorization and interfered with firefighters, leading to federal court convictions in 2012. As an administrative appeal was wending its way through the Interior Department, Zinke ordered the decision be transferred to his jurisdiction. On January 2, during the government shutdown, Zinke reversed the BLM’s 2014 decision and decided to renew the Hammonds’ grazing permit. “This was political interference at the highest levels of government,” said Judi Brawer, wild places program director at WildEarth Guardians. “There are no legal grounds for renewing the permit without a public environmental review. Letting a Trump appointee arbitrarily determine who does and doesn’t get the privilege of grazing on our public lands is an insult to public lands users.”
Fuelwood Permits On Sale At Local Vendors
Personal-use fuelwood permits for the Sawtooth National Forest are on sale starting May 15. Fuelwood permits are $6.25 per cord with a four-cord minimum and a 10-cord maximum per household. Permits will be available at Sawtooth National Forest Ranger District offices, the Sawtooth Supervisor’s Office at 370 American Ave. in Jerome, and private vendors in southern Idaho. The 2019 fuelwood season goes through Nov. 30. Cutting fuelwood within a closure area is prohibited. Check this year’s fuelwood brochure and current Motor Vehicle Use Maps to make sure you are cutting in an area open to fuelwood gathering and pay special attention to closed areas and roads with restoration activities. “Remember, the forest has regulations prohibiting the cutting of dead or living whitebark pine trees which are declining and are critically important to several wildlife species,” said Sawtooth National Forest Timber Program Manager, Scott Wagner. Fuelwood permits are valid within the Boise, Payette and Sawtooth National Forests. All motorized travel related to fuelwood gathering must be in full accordance with Forest Service travel regulations. Once the snow melts, permit holders are encouraged to cut fuelwood early in the year because fire restrictions may impact the cutting season later in the summer. Early-season fuelwood cutters are asked to use caution, avoiding wet muddy roads, where travel may cause resource damage. Fuelwood cutting is not allowed within riparian areas (adjacent to creeks and rivers). Sawtooth National Forest vendors include: • Camas Creek Country Store, Fairfield 208-764-2211 • Sawtooth Wood Products, Bellevue 208-788-4705 • Idaho Lumber, Hailey 208-788-3333 • Lower Stanley Country Store 208-774-3566